Too Many Temples – Serpentine – Single Review

Psychedelic post-punk quartet Too Many Temples return with ‘Serpentine,’ a vivid, emotionally charged meditation on love and lust. It’s a stunning reflection of the band’s ability to weave personal and cultural narratives into something both chaotic and ethereal.

The song, driven by Ranj’s poetic, multifaceted vocals, sometimes biting, sometimes drenched in yearning takes listeners into the raw moments between passion and confusion. “Lover please, you’re yet to choose a stick to beat me with,” he sings, his words laced with vulnerability and a tension that simmers throughout. ‘Serpentine ‘ is less a song than a journey, one that pushes you from the turbulent throes of desire to the delicate vulnerability that follows.

The instrumental landscape, crafted by Sarb’s intricate guitar riffs and Tom’s dizzying backward guitar effects, is equally compelling. It pulls you between the serene and the chaotic, echoing the internal conflict of the protagonist. As Tom explains, the band’s creative process was a delicate balance of clashing influences, which results in a track that feels as personal as it is unpredictable. The melody dances around a mystical acoustic riff, grounding the surrealism of the lyrics in something both tangible and off-kilter.

There’s a sense of otherworldliness in Serpentine, but also a grounded intimacy. It’s quirky, euphoric, violent, and dramatic in equal measure. The way the song builds and ebbs evoke the paradoxes of love itself—sometimes intoxicating, other times disorienting, but always compelling.